Iron Age cooking mound excavated in Wales

An Iron Age cooking mound found on Skomer Island in Wales has undergone excavation, revealing the teeth of cattle among the fire-cracked stones.

A cattle tooth left in a cooking mound and fire-cracked stones used for boiling water have paved the prehistoric way to dating the sweeping settlement of Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire, where archaeologists say the ancient, well-preserved field systems date from between 520 to 458 BC.

This was the first time archaeologists had been allowed to excavate on the island. Opening a trench, they aimed to explore the “long and complex” history of settlements and farming on Skomer, informed by three years of careful research by wildlife and science experts and universities.

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Story: Ben Miller, Culture24 | Photo: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales